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The Greek crisis has not, in general terms, roused a great deal of interest within Brazilian society. Nor has the Brazilian government issued a very detailed statement regarding it, although this is largely due to the fact that Brazil is itself in the midst of both economic and political crises. Corruption charges are rampant, not least in the current scandal "Petrolão", involving both high-ranking politicians and top businessmen of major Brazilian companies.
Even President Dilma Rousseff and her predecessor Lula da Silva are suspected of having been aware if not potentially involved in the nepotistic entanglements between the political and economic elites of the country.
Under these circumstances, taking a clear position with regard to a foreign crisis or even developing a more active foreign policy is not on the government’s agenda. The governing Workers' Party (PT) of President Dilma Rousseff published a short comment on the Greek ‘No’ rejecting the creditor countries proposal in a referendum. The PT comment expressed delight at the outcome, calling it a "triumph over the financial terrorism" of the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund and declaring "deep respect and admiration" for the Greek people, also stating, allegorically, that the "birthplace of democracy" had rebelled against "savage capitalism".
Official comments in major Brazilian newspapers mirrored these views. For instance, a comment was published on the 16th of July 2015 in the Folha de S. Paulo portraying the Eurozone as a classist project made for and by the wealthier members of the group. This line of thinking is close to the arguments of the European Left. However, a negative view towards the Federal Republic of Germany cannot be derived therefrom; the negative coverage refers to the capitalist economy and the representatives of this economy in political and economic elites. Criticism has mostly been levelled at certain aspects of the capitalist economic model, however and not at creditor nations per se.
Overall, the Brazilian media has focussed upon the mere description of the Greek agreement and the list of reforms.
The expected impact the Greek Crisis will have upon European integration, or any potential ensuing developments that might affect the EU-Brazil relationship have not been discussed in depth – neither by media outlets, nor civil society at large. Within social media – used with higher average frequency in Brazil as compared to global levels – hashtags related to the Greek Crisis have been fairly insignificant in number.
Conservative political party PSDB has not issued an official statement on the matter. The focus at present is upon domestic issues, particularly a foreign policy critique concerning Venezuela. In a personal conversation with KAS staff in Brazil, however, the PSDB party chairman, Aécio Neves, recently expressed sympathy with the demands and requirements of the Euro-Group towards Greece.
